Many seasoned teachers have strategies and methods which they know work in a F2F classroom. Although years of experience is good, each online course may require a teacher to start over by using various technology vehicles for students to learn content. These same teachers whom have listened to students over the years in F2F classrooms, will need to learn new technology to impart content. They will remain successful if they listen to students and provide what is needed to have success with learning outcomes.
Being consistent in your course layout will make it easier for students to find the materials they need. Students need to be able to find information quickly and easily. It will also make editing and updating content easier for you.
Teachers need to take a lot into account when creating online courses.
One thing that stands out is that one cannot take a F2F course and then transfer over all components to an online course. Care and preparation has to be taken to make sure the course is organized, and that students are engaging in the online environment.
A quality course needs to be organized and easy to navigate.
Organization of the course is very important. It needs to be structured in a student managable fashion. Students need to know what is found in predicatable area. Instructional units should be small and manageable. Use games and supportive video clips
Organization of course materials can be achieved through catagories which enable the student to find information quickly
A online teacher does not have to reinvent the wheel to be successful, the need will be to use textbooks online and others tools. The teacher should reflect his or her personality and chats use to stimulate the discussions and the students.
We may not need to reinvent the wheel, or it may be easier to recreate the course when translating the learning objectives and our own teaching styles to online courses for online learning. Also, overcome fears and keep moving forward in this process.
It is important for teachers to make a distinction between the on line course and the F2F course.
It would be a good idea for the teacher not to try to emulate the F2F course in an on line situatuio, but rather to use on line tools to create an environment which lets the student feel comfortable using the computer.
A friendly greeting or introduction can be used effectivly in this regard.
What I take away from this module is the importance of not only course structure, but consistancy. It is important for distanct learners to be able to comfortably navigate through the course modules.
Without proper organization, the right materials even if provided in abundance can miss the mark. The instructor has to look at organization alongside the tools before they can properly set up an effective course.
I found the important take away here is the importance of consistency when building a course. It gives students a path to better understand the course and achieve learning objectives.
The organization of the course content is essential to allow students to find pertinent information quickly and to allow anyone to update information on a timely basis.
Transforming rather than simply transferring class material is important in an online class. The materials and modes of communicating ideas/concepts in class should be routinely evaluated to ensure the class is the best possible quality.
I learned how to increase my online presence with the way that I organize my course with the use of welcome letters and best wishes messages to end a course. I will strive to increase my students' comfort level with the course with regular and timely communication with my students throughout the course.
I liked the idea of a welcome letter at the beginning of the course and a best-wishes letter at the end of the course. I will be sure to have both in my online classes.
Good facilitation techniques suggest that multiple strategies should be used to engage students which may include:
Welcome letter, introductions, syllabus, email, discussion boards, synchronous and asynchronous learning, etc.
A main idea I picked up from this module was that the teacher can use social presence to increase student engagement. There are several methods to create social presence in an online course setting. I plan to build these methods into creating framework for future courses. I believe that including creating social presence into the pattern of teaching would further enhance student learning and make it easier for teachers to conduct online courses. I believe this shows that setting and keeping routines is the key to success in online courses.
teaching online is not effective if it is linear. student interaction is required.
